Far Infrared Lamp

My near fatal brush with illness as a child created in me a serious, contemplative nature. My time in the hospital left me very empathetic and compassionate for anyone with an illness, or a disease of mind, body, or spirit. I have been on a life long vision quest--the search for good health. What does it mean to live healthy? I believe for every question there is an answer. My spiritual nature tells me the Creator has created an answer for illness and disease and that is my driving force. I may not be the person the Creator inspires with the healing innovation, but I can be the person to get the word out!

At first I questioned what kind of spiritual gift I had. If I am not the innovator, scientist or inventor, what did I offer the equation? My gift—I am a spiritual cheerleader! Has something made you feel dis-eased? You can find your ease—state of balance, centeredness and harmony! I believe this—I know this! This is self-empowerment.

I was surprised the first time I realized that some individuals have great difficulty choosing a course of action, or making a decision—because this is the complete opposite of my personality. We as individuals tend to think everyone else shares the same worldview—how naive we are sometimes.

One of the innovations I have tried is a far infrared lamp. All of my life I had had chronic muscle aches and a tendency to tendonitis. With aging, my ability to tough it out and convince myself all would be better tomorrow was no longer working. I had passed some kind of tipping point. My body was now in agony. My chiropractor was commenting on the fact that my lateral back muscles were so tight they were raising my right hip. Massage helped but I needed something daily—something I could do at home. I remembered my Mother had a heat lamp—maybe this is what I need. As much as I like to claim I am different than my mother, the truth is—we are practically genetic twins.

There are many companies selling therapeutic energy products. An individual has to do their homework before deciding how to invest their money. An individual might consider a far infrared sauna, lamp, or clothing. I chose the FIR lamp; it seemed to have the most utility in my lifestyle.

According to the manufacturer’s web site, my Far Infrared Mineral Lamp features a round plate coated with a proprietary mineral clay formation consisting of 33 earth elements essential to the human body. When activated by the built-in electric heating element, this mineral plate emits a special band of far-infrared waves ranging from 2 to 25 (microns) in wavelength that coincides with the wavelengths and intensity of the electromagnetic radiations emanating from the human body.  As a result, the far-infrared waves are readily absorbed.  The benefits are: raises temperature in tissue, Expansion of capillary vessels, Rejuvenation of cells, Promotion of blood circulation, Helps to move toxins from cells, Faster recovery from muscle strains, and Improvement in Lymphatic system.

Far Infrared Rays are invisible waves of electromagnetic radiation of wavelength greater than that of the red end of the spectrum, having wavelengths of 0.75-1000 μm. Infrared rays are sometimes subdivided into long-wave or far infrared (about 3.0-1000 μm) and short-wave or near infrared (about 0.75-3.0 μm). They are capable of penetrating body tissues to a depth of 10 mm. Sources of infrared rays include heat lamps, hot water bottles, steam radiators and incandescent light bulbs. Infrared rays are used therapeutically to promote muscle relaxation, to speed up the inflammatory process, and to increase circulation to a part of the body. Through the subtle heating, Far Infrared boosts our immune system, increasing the amount of white blood cells and killer T-cells.

It should be noted that the inflammatory process is the process of initiating healing by marshaling ones healing processes. It should be noted chronic inflammation is a reaction of tissue to irritation, injury, or infection, characterized by pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes loss of function.

FIR expands capillaries increasing oxygenation and regeneration of the blood deeply detoxifying and improving functioning of the major organs in the body. This deep detoxification dissolves or immobilizes toxins in the blood. FIR therapy may help in fat loss, chronic fatigue, water retention, skin disorders, as well as in the elimination heavy metals, poisons, and carcinogenic material from our bodies. FIR is beneficial in reducing muscle soreness, muscle spasms and provides relief for rheumatoid arthritis. Research by NASA has shown that far infrared on the cardiovascular system was a great way of keeping astronauts hearts’ in optimal condition. Far Infrared increases the enzyme activity in our digestive tract and boosts metabolism. An hour of this therapy can burn up to 900 calories helping to break down trapped fat, waste, cellulite and other forms of toxic substances. Far Infrared has been shown to help heal scar tissue.

Heart studies done by The Mayo Clinic and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that infrared sauna therapy significantly improved blood vessel functioning in high-cholesterol, diabetes and smoking patients. The therapy also was found to increase circulation, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, and help in weight loss.

The online article by Brent A. Bauer, M.D. reports the far-infrared sauna uses light to create heat. "Far" describes where the infrared waves fall on the light spectrum. An infrared sauna heats your body directly without warming the air around you. An infrared sauna produces these results at lower temperatures than does a regular sauna, which makes it accessible to people who can't tolerate the heat of a conventional sauna. Several studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis, and found some evidence of benefit, however, larger and more-rigorous studies are needed to confirm these results. On the other hand, no adverse effects have been reported with infrared saunas.

In an online article by Justin Tobias, M.D., revised by Stephanie Neumayer, M.D., describes information supported by randomized, controlled trials in peer-reviewed, medically respected journals. Saunas are noted as contributing to the improvement in patients with congestive heart failure, heart disease, mild depression, and chronic pain. It is noted that Creighton University Medical School's AltMed website explains individuals with a history of multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, hyperthyroidism, systemic lupus erythematous or adrenal suppression should not use an infrared sauna. Those who are pregnant, nursing or experiencing their menstrual flow should not use a sauna. Those with artificial joints, metal pins and silicone implants should also avoid saunas. The effects of some prescription drugs may be altered due to the high heat in a sauna.

http://altmed.creighton.edu/sauna/research_supported_benefits.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infrared-sauna/AN02154

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-far-infrared-therapy/

http://www.livestrong.com/

http://www.braintuner.com/tdp.htm

Black TOXIC Mold

A piece of moldy bread was my first science project in 3rd grade. Ever since I saw my first piece of moldy bread, the young science nerd in me has been fascinated. Bread mold does not turn into penicillin. Bread mold makes penicillin as a by-product of its metabolic processes. Penicillin is manufactured by growing bread mold in a nutrient and stripping off the produced penicillin in the same manner that alcohol is made by yeast and the alcohol recovered. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_turn_bread_mold_in_penicillin#ixzz279fqOyu8

Well, it seems like there is always something new to learn. Now as an adult I have been introduced to the dark side of mold—black mold. My last work place, a public school, was infested. I ignored it—big mistake. I just tried to stay away from that office as much as possible. I blamed the increased headaches, dry eyes, allergy reactions, aches, pains, depression, and more, on aging and stress. To add to the problem my home, a 1929 craftsman bungalow, which I love, had a wet, leaky basement. I was also ignoring my black mold problem at home.

I was an ostrich with my head buried in the sand. I found myself with a bronchial infection where I did not sleep for three days because I coughed constantly. I went to the physician she put me on antibiotics. After six weeks of medication I began to make progress. But while I was laying on the couch reviewing my life, trying to figure out— how did I get to this state of depleted health, I realized THIS IS MOLD RELATED.

Luckily, I had left that toxic job behind but now I had to address my home. My contractor set to work to deal with the wet basement—French drains outside and in. A French drain can have perforated hollow pipes along the bottom to quickly vent water that seeps down through the upper gravel or rock. I could tell an immediate improvement in the interior environment after the mold remediation.

Later after a thorough wellness physical, my alternative physician remarked your blood shows markers for biotoxin exposure, she questioned what could that be? I said could it be black mold exposure?

People living with black toxic mold usually breathe in the mycotoxins. However they can also ingest them or absorb them through their skin. When mycotoxins end up lodging in the lungs this creates breathing problems. Inhaling mycotoxins is much more harmful than ingesting them. The main type of mycotoxins are called trithochecenes. These are some of the most toxic mycotoxins. It is suspected that trichothecenes can cause cancer and damage the immune system. This can lead to a wide range of symptoms. The seriousness of the symptoms depends on the amount of mycotoxins and length of exposure.

If you have a black toxic mold problem you might suffer some of these symptoms:

• Dry eyes • Vision problems • Mental impairment • Neurological symptoms• Memory loss • Anxiety • Depression • Confusion

• Balance problems • General discomfort • Pain • Joint pain • Muscle aches • Muscle pain • Tiredness • Fatigue • Headache • Nausea • Stomach pain • Abdominal pain • Internal lesions • Bleeding • Dermatitis • Rash • Breathing problems • Respiratory problems • Burning lungs • Bleeding lungs • Pulmonary hemorrhage • Wheezing • Shortness of breath • Sore throat • Burning throat • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Coughing • Coughing up blood • Sneezing • Flu-like symptoms • Cold symptoms • Fever • Nosebleeds • Rhinitis • Swollen lymph nodes • Heart palpitations • Yellow nails • Whitemarks under nail • Neck boils • Malaise • Seizures • Autoimmune disease • Acid reflux • Internal organ damage

A frequent musty smell in your home may be the sign of a mold infestation. If you suspect a musty smell, it’s a good idea to hire a professional who can assess your home. If you suspect you have a serious black mold problem call a professional mold remediation specialist to test the mold and make recommendations. The biggest mistake would be to try to kill or remove black toxic mold yourself. Disturbing black toxic mold can trigger the release of millions of spores and mycotoxins. These can contaminate your home, perhaps even beyond repair. The goal of black toxic mold removal is not to kill the mold, rather the goal is to completely remove the mold from your home.

For small, household mold clean up from nonporous surfaces, you can scrub mold from surfaces using water and detergent. Lightly wet the mold growth before you start scrubbing to stop mold spores from escaping into the air. Dead mold spores are still allergenic. So the main goal is to remove the mold, whether you kill it or not.

Does bleach kill mold? Bleach does NOT kill mold. It doesn't even disinfect mold spores. The only thing that bleach does is change the color of the mold by damaging the roots of it. Bleach is not an effective way to kill mold and provides only a temporary solution by slowing its growth. Chlorine bleach doesn't kill mold spores because bleach is made mostly out of water. Water is a main requirement for mold growth and trying to get rid of it with a product that is 99% mold (ie. bleach) isn't very effective.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1075538 

Natural mold removers:

Tea Tree Oil - which you can purchase at health food stores does a fantastic job as a mold remover. It is expensive but you only have to use small amounts to get great results. It can be used on walls, ceilings, shower curtains etc. Be aware that it does have a very strong odor which will take a few days to calm down - at least it's better than a musty moldy smell! Tea Tree Oil appears to remove and kill the vast majority of mold types.

First thing to do is mix 2 teaspoons of the tea tree oil with approximately 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Shake gently to mix the two then spray the areas of mold with the solution. There is no need to rinse the mixture off simply leave to dry. You can keep the mixture ready for next time!

Vinegar - something which every household will most definitely have in the kitchen cupboard and it costs very little to buy. White distilled vinegar poured into a spray bottle and sprayed directly onto the area of mold will kill around 82% of molds according to reports. Again, don't rinse, allow to dry. This one is particularly smelly but a good, cheap mold remover!

Grapefruit Seed Extract - this one has a huge advantage over the others - it is

completely odorless. The down side is that like tea tree oil it is expensive but again only small quantities are needed. Put 20 drops of the grapefruit extract into a spray bottle and mix with two cups of water. Once again apply to the affected area, no rinsing is required just allow to dry. This mixture too can be kept indefinitely.

Borax- is a common cleaning chemical used by individuals and industrial companies alike. It does not emit any toxic chemicals when you use it, so you do not need to wear any sort of respiratory mask while using Borax. Mix one cup of the Borax with a gallon of water. Shake or stir the container you mix the solution in to thoroughly stir up the water and Borax. Dip a scrubbing brush into the Borax mixture and scrub the mold away with the brush. The Borax will loosen the mold's hold on the surface while the brush completely removes it.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5564625_use-borax-kill-mold.html#ixzz279ynpPVg 

http://EzineArticles.com/3582608

Facing Posttraumatic Stress: You deserve to feel better

When I was five years old, I had St. Louis encephalitis (SLVE). SLVE is a virus that can cause serious illness that affects the central nervous system. For those of us that had a severe case, symptoms often include fever, headache, stiff neck, disorientation, and altered level of consciousness. Coma, convulsions, and paralysis may also occur sometimes leading to death, or a permanent vegetative state. Those were the days before antibiotics and anti-virals; to this day there is no known medication that kills the SLVE virus.

I did not comprehend, or understand my experience in the children’s hospital. Those were the days when hospital personnel explained nothing to children. I would fall asleep then wake up in the morning unable to recall where I was. Since I was in a university teaching/research hospital, their primary concern was on drawing large tubes of blood daily; a process that was true torture.  My first memory of the hospital is floating above myself and looking down at my body; I had feeding tubes in my nose. My second memory was waking up in isolation alone with people standing on the other side of the window glass staring at me.

From the time I was five until far into my adult years I had nearly daily thoughts that the encephalitis would return and either leave me in a vegetative state, or kill me. Any thoughts that triggered me would cause panic symptoms. At times I would believe I had conquered my fears. But the fears would sneak back in at unexpected moments. It had been forty years since my traumatic hospital experiences. Once I decided to see a neurologist about my proprioceptive issues. The neurologist, who had an intern with him, had had me put on a hospital gown. When he started the cursory reflex testing using the little hammer on my knees, I began sobbing and hyperventilating. I was again the five-year old child unable to communicate to the doctor who was demanding that I conform to the needs of his day. I felt his judgmental attitude and I felt all the guilt I had as a child for fighting against them as they drew my blood.

Again I thought I had conquered all of these irrational fears (are such fears truly irrational?) until I was faced with needing breast cancer treatment. I made it through the treatments I chose. However, I realized I had developed a set of anxiety, panic and migraine behaviors that were adversely affecting my daily life. Life had become joyless, and hyper-vigilant. I had no emotional reserves to deal with increased work stress.

I had taken a class on the diagnosis of mental disorders as part of the requirements for becoming a licensed professional counselor. I realized that my childhood experiences did meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress. I also realized that left over guilt and irrational beliefs were keeping me from accepting the truth that I had a right and deserved to feel better. (I often would think of the other children in the ward—are they alive are they dead? Sick, or well—to me they are still children suffering.)

I had gone to a psychologist to deal with work stress four years previous. I decided I needed to go back to the psychologist and try to heal this PTSD issue and quit pretending it doesn’t exist. I needed to stop being a hypocrite with myself if I intend to be an effective counselor.

It is natural to feel afraid when we are in danger. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger or to avoid it. The “fight-or-flight” response is a healthy reaction meant to protect us from harm. But in PTSD, this reaction is changed or damaged. We may feel stressed or frightened even when we are no longer in danger.

Anyone can get PTSD at any age. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present: 1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others. 2. The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: in children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

PTSD can cause many symptoms. These symptoms can be grouped into three categories:

1. Re-experiencing symptoms:

•                Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating

•                Bad dreams

•                Frightening thoughts.

Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing.

2. Avoidance symptoms:

•                Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience

•                Feeling emotionally numb

•                Feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry

•                Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past

•                Having trouble remembering the dangerous event.

Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.

3. Hyperarousal symptoms:

•                Being easily startled

•                Feeling tense or “on edge”

•                Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.

Hyperarousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic event. They can make the person feel stressed and angry. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating. It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event. Sometimes people have very serious symptoms that go away after a few weeks. This is called acute stress disorder, or ASD. When the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months.

Children and teens can have extreme reactions to trauma, but their symptoms may not be the same as adults.¹ In very young children, these symptoms can include:

•                Bedwetting, when they’d learned how to use the toilet before

•                Forgetting how or being unable to talk

•                Acting out the scary event during playtime

•                Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult.

Older children and teens usually show symptoms more like those seen in adults. They may also develop disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive behaviors. Older children and teens may feel guilty for not preventing injury or deaths. They may also have thoughts of revenge. For more information, see the NIMH booklets on helping children cope with violence and disasters.

Many factors play a part in whether a person will get PTSD. Some of these are risk factors that make a person more likely to get PTSD. Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder. Some of these risk and resilience factors are present before the trauma and others become important during and after a traumatic event.

Risk factors for PTSD include:

•                Living through dangerous events and traumas

•                Having a history of mental illness

•                Getting hurt

•                Seeing people hurt or killed

•                Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear

•                Having little or no social support after the event

•                Dealing with extra stress after the event: pain/injury, loss of a loved one, a job or home.

Resilience factors that may reduce the risk of PTSD include:

•                Seeking out support from other people, such as friends and family

•                Finding a support group after a traumatic event

•                Feeling good about one’s own actions in the face of danger

•                Having a coping strategy, or a way of getting through the bad event learning from it

•                Being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear.

Psychotherapy is “talk” therapy. It involves talking with a mental health professional to treat a mental illness. Psychotherapy can occur one-on-one or in a group. Talk therapy treatment for PTSD usually lasts 6 to 12 weeks, but can take more time. Research shows that support from family and friends can be an important part of therapy.

Many types of psychotherapy can help people with PTSD. Some types target the symptoms of PTSD directly. Other therapies focus on social, family, or job-related problems.

One helpful therapy is called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. There are several parts to CBT, including:

•                Exposure therapy. This therapy helps people face and control their fear. It exposes them to the trauma they experienced in a safe way. It uses mental imagery, writing, or visits to the place where the event happened. The therapist uses these tools to help people with PTSD cope with their feelings.

•                Cognitive restructuring. This therapy helps people make sense of the bad memories. Sometimes people remember the event differently than how it happened. They may feel guilt or shame about what is not their fault. The therapist helps people with PTSD look at what happened in a realistic way.

•                Stress inoculation training. This therapy tries to reduce PTSD symptoms by teaching a person how to reduce anxiety. Like cognitive restructuring, this treatment helps people look at their memories in a healthy way.

Other types of treatment can also help people with PTSD. People with PTSD should talk about all treatment options with their therapist.

Talk therapies teach people helpful ways to react to frightening events that trigger their PTSD symptoms. Based on this general goal, different types of therapy may:

•                Teach about trauma and its effects.

•                Use relaxation and anger control skills.

•                Provide tips for better sleep, diet, and exercise habits.

•                Help people identify and deal with guilt, shame, and other feelings about the event.

Focus on changing how people react to their PTSD symptoms. For example, therapy helps people visit places and people that are reminders of the trauma.

If you know someone who has PTSD, it affects you too. The first and most important thing you can do to help a friend or relative is to help him or her get the right diagnosis and treatment. You may need to make an appointment for your friend or relative and go with him or her to see the doctor. Encourage him or her to stay in treatment, or to seek different treatment if his or her symptoms don’t get better after 6 to 8 weeks.

To help a friend or relative, you can:

•                Offer emotional support, understanding, patience, and encouragement.

•                Learn about PTSD so you can understand what your friend or relative is experiencing.

•                Talk to your friend or relative, and listen carefully.

•                Listen to feelings your friend or relative expresses and be understanding of situations that may trigger PTSD symptoms.

•                Invite your friend or relative out for positive distractions such as walks, outings, and other activities.

•                Remind your friend or relative that, with time and treatment, he or she can get better.

Never ignore comments about your friend or relative harming him or herself, and report such comments to your friends or relative’s therapist or doctor.

If you are unsure where to go for help, ask your family doctor. You can also check the phone book under “mental health,” “health,” “social services,” “hotlines,” or “physicians” for phone numbers and addresses. An emergency room doctor can also provide temporary help and can tell you where and how to get further help.

If you are thinking about harming yourself, or know someone who is, tell someone who can help immediately:

•                Call your doctor.

•                Call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room to get immediate help or ask a friend or family member to help you do these things.

•                Call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273–TALK (1–800–273–8255); TTY: 1–800–799–4TTY (4889) to talk to a trained counselor.

http://www.cdc.gov/sle/general/qa.html

http://www.ptsdsupport.net/PTSD_DSM-IV-TR_Diagnosis_&_Criteria.html

http://www.ptsdsupport.net/Spiritual_Alienation.html

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/complete-index.shtml

Jumpining for Joy: The mini-trampoline

I began using a mini-trampoline about five years ago after breast cancer surgery as part of my alternative wellness therapeutic approach. Rebounding was the technique my physician, who has allopathic, naturopathic and chiropractic credentials, suggested to address my sluggish lymph system. I followed her suggestion with minimal enthusiasm. The mini-tramp seemed like nothing but a boring child’s toy. 

To improve my negative outlook, I put the mini-tramp outside in the beautiful fall weather—bright blue skies, golden and red leaves, and clear, crisp air. I started jumping. Suddenly I realized the full potential of rebounding to improve my overall health. As I bounced I even noticed my stress and sadness began to dissipate.

Rebounding improves balance and coordination. Although the bouncing is low-impact it provides a good cardiovascular workout. The action quickens your pulse and works several muscle groups at once. Your heart and respiratory system work harder as both organs are forced to fight against the earth's gravitational pull. The mintramp can enhance your motor skills and help to build bone density,

A study published in "The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences"  (March 2009) reported stroke victims and elderly and fall-prone people could particularly get the benefit of mini-trampoline found it improved posture and gait, aided balance and helped to increase joint-position awareness in the ankle. A study published in the journal "Aviation, Space and Environmental Exercise"  (January 2006) found that trampoline exercise was a worthy alternative to strength training in helping to reduce neck strain and injury in pilots.

Rebounding is a type of plyometric exercise, a category that comes with a host of benefits. Plyometrics tone muscles, improve flexibility, enhance muscle response time and improve balance and posture. 

The human body needs to move for the lymph system to work. The lymphatic system is the metabolic garbage can of the body and rids the body of toxins, such as dead and cancerous cells, nitrogenous wastes, fat, infectious viruses, heavy metals. Lymph bathes every cell, carrying nutrients to the cell and waste products away. Contrary to blood, which is pumped by the heart, the lymph system depends on physical exercise to function. Without adequate movement, the cells are left stewing in their own waste products and starving for nutrients. This situation contributes to arthritis, cancer and other degenerative diseases. The rebounding motion stimulates all internal organs, moves the cerebral-spinal fluid, and is beneficial for the intestines. All cells in the body become stronger in response to the increased "G force" during rebounding. Cellular exercise results in immune cells being up to 5 times more active; immune cells are responsible for eating viruses, bacteria and even cancer cells. Rebounding directly strengthens the immune system. 

Rebounding is an exercise that reduces your body fat and is highly beneficial for diabetes and a host of other diseases, provides an aerobic effect for your heart, and gives your body energy when it's tired. Jumping on a mini-trampoline, along with yoga and deep breathing, is an excellent way to reduce stress. The bouncing person enters a trance-like state that provides a wonderful sense of relaxation. Jumping stabilizes the nervous system that helps maintain a relaxed disposition. One has increased resistance to environmental, physical, and emotional stress.

Since rebounding uses the force of gravitation to get it going, it aids weight loss efforts by raising the metabolism and burning a high number of calories. The heart is strengthened and conditioned this contributes to heart’s ability rate to regulate and beat at a slower rate. As the heart and circulatory system strengthens, cholesterol and triglyceride levels are lowered, along with blood pressure. Rebounding improves the immune system along with the circulatory and digestive systems. 

Personally, rebounding has improved the strength, coordination and stability of my knees and ankles. This is so very important for us as we age to counter the effects of osteoarthritis. For the sedentary office worker the mini-tramp is an easy, efficient way to counteract the sedentary nature of office work. For individuals who store the day’s stress in their bodies, the mini-tramp allows one to improve circulation and relax overworked, tense muscles.  It is also a joyful activity that can be done indoors or outdoors.

http://www.ehow.com/about_4565561_health-benefits-mini-trampoline.html#ixzz2619jxF8A

http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/rebounding-for-detoxification-and-health.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/302850-the-benefits-from-using-a-mini-trampoline/#ixzz26165PObg

http://www.urbanrebounding.com/research.html

A Back Pain Odyssey

Even as a child I had a lot of back pain.  I fell over the cracks in the sidewalk and would trip over my own feet. Such is childhood. I would run into doorways. I would be looking right at the glass I was grabbing for but rather than the glass ending up in the center of my grasp I would end up poking it with my fingers and over it would go.

Well some things never change—I still trip over cracks in the sidewalk. I have at least two or three hard falls a year this is not good as we get older—I especially worry about my knees. Knee replacements really do not live up to their advertising hype.

I had encephalitis as a child and thought this eye-hand coordination, visual-motor processing issue was an after effect of that illness. There was a time in my life when I thought doctors new everything and could fix every thing. So as an adult I went to a neurologist. I did a complete battery of neurological tests. The end result was—yes I have inconsistent neurological deficits and there is no fix.

I realized that if I wanted to understand who I am as a body in the mind/body/spirit equation I would have to reason it out for my self. My first step was to choose self-acceptance and stop feeling guilty (left over childhood emotional programming) because I cannot consistently catch a moving target (a ball) or remember tai chi routines.

My approach, as a school psychologist, was to self-diagnosis—what other choice did I have? Diagnosis: adult with a hidden Learning Disability in the area of visual-motor processing. Hidden in the terms that the deficit is not visible to others. The topic of hidden disability and adult learning disability is a topic for another day—but it is a topic that deserves attention and acceptance.

So now I have a label but I do not have an explanation for these clumsy, uncoordinated behaviors. These falls typically leave me with back pain from pinched nerves. Since I am more interested in healing the problem than in drowning myself in liver damaging pain medication, my treatment modalities tend to be massage, physical therapy, and chiropractic.

My clumsy behavior never made sense to me until I learned about the neurological process of proprioception. The position-movement sensation, proprioception, has been described as "muscle sense." It is physiologic feedback mechanisms in which a feedback loop exists where commands are carried from the brain to the muscles and then reports on the muscle's condition are sent in the reverse direction. Afferent information (back to the brain) also comes from other structures including tendons, joints, and skin.

My proprioception deficit tends to put me in the wrong place at the wrong time. My estimate is that my reaction time is two to three seconds off. Typically I am three inches off when moving my body through space and half an inch off when pushing buttons on phone or keyboard. Seemingly this is a very big deal in the act of walking through a doorway or past people in a crowded room. In other words I move faster than I visually process. I say to myself step over that person’s foot and I believe that is what I am doing and then crunch I feel myself stepping on their foot.

My many falls have left me with chronic back pain. Back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the world — only headache is more common. I choose massage, physical therapy and chiropractic to treat the repeated physical stress and chronic conditions.

I, like many back pain sufferers, often believe that during those periods when the pain disappears that the problem has gone away. But this is not always the case—the cause of the pain does not disappear with the symptoms, and in many instances back pain will recur. If left untreated, most back problems only worsen as time and gravity take their toll on our bodies. After falling hard on my knee and twisting and torqueing my pelvis I have had excruciating lumbar pain for nearly five years. I had sciatic pain shooting through my buttocks and down my leg into my foot. I could walk for about fifteen minutes at a moderate pace but could not tolerate standing after five minutes. I wished I could cry because I thought it might make me feel better. I was starting to feel hopeless, which is not like me. I knew I could not live like this for the next 30 years, in my family people live into their 90s. I refused to picture myself as ready for a wheel chair, when we stop ambulatory movement, walking, we enter into the process of entropy. I honor any other individual’s choice. I just thank God for swimming pools. In the pool I was pain free and could get a work out that maintained my strength and stamina.

I started with physical therapy and back strengthening which created minor improvement but the PT became a treadmill sadist and I felt myself regress. I went to an orthopedic physician who requested I get an MRI. Although, I did have two slightly herniated discs, very slight spinal stenosis, and mild lateral arthritis, I did not meet his criteria for surgery because the pattern of symptoms did not indicate a diagnosis remediable by surgery. I totally respected his response because many people go through back surgery and end up worse off than before. He sent me to pain management for two sets of four spinal facet cortisone injections—no improvement. Pain Management’s next suggestion was a technique where they destroy some of the nerves in your back, a rhizotomy. This is where I said goodbye to traditional medicine.

I was continuing to work with my chiropractor. She asked had I thought about prolotherapy? It is a technique that is meant to strengthen weak, over stretched ligaments, as this seems to be a big part of the problem. I did try prolotherapy and felt 20-30% improvement. My hopeful nature returned completely. I felt I still had not found my complete answer. A friend told me she had cured her sciatica problem with Rolfing. I had heard of Rolfing and knew it was criticized for being painful. But I also knew physical therapists who say no pain no gain and I also knew nothing could be as painful as the aftermath of surgery. My Rolfer was a very encouraging person and I did the complete eleven-session program. She also suggested I integrate Sacral-Occipital Therapy Chiropractic into the treatment plan. I would say I have had another 30% improvement. I still have a tendency to extreme muscle tension as if a muscle in the lumbar region goes into spasm. It is this spasm that is the seat of the pain because if I keep that muscle stretched I have no pain. The next step of my odyssey is to discover if a previous viral infection that I know settled in my low back is in fact the culprit causing the current level of muscle spasm pain.

I did also work with a psychologist and a body energy worker. I am a believer in the mind/body/spirit equation. I address all aspects of the healing of my body, mind, and spirit. I view this odyssey as a life lesson; it took sixty years to get to this point I cannot expect to reverse the damage in six months. The alternative approaches I have chosen have been researched; they are not paid for by health insurance but they should be. Health insurance should pay for therapies that promote health not pain killer medication addiction and physical deterioration.

This is a brief description of Rolfing. Rolfing, A system of deep-tissue massage, also known as Structural Integration, has the ability to dramatically alter a person’s posture and structure. It is estimated that more than one million people have received Rolfing work, many for back pain. Research has shown that Rolfing creates a more efficient use of the muscles, allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more economical and refined patterns of movement. Research also demonstrates that Rolfing significantly reduces chronic stress and changes in the body structure. For example, a study showed that Rolfing significantly reduced the spinal curvature of subjects with lordosis (“swayback”). Rolfing has been gaining popularity in the past few decades as a successful treatment for many types of back pain.

 Your back supports your entire body, using a complex interconnecting network of nerves, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. All these components are capable of producing pain in back, low back and surrounding areas. Because the back is connected to the rest of your body, it also means that pain in back can be an early warning of underlying conditions elsewhere in your body.

Large nerves that originate in the spine and go to the legs and arms can make pain radiate to the extremities. The pain may be felt in the neck (and might radiate into the arm and hand), in the upper back, or in the low back, (and might radiate into the leg or foot), and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling.

Rolfing sees the body and its structure as a series of interconnected and inter-related bony segments. As a Rolfer will explain to you, your body is designed to provide internal support for all these segments. Large sections rest on sections below them and provide support for sections that are above them. In this case, the back, especially the lower back, provides internal support for almost all of your body. To understand how Rolfing treatment for the back works, it is important to recognize that the back pain cannot be understood by looking at the back alone. It is crucial to understand that Rolfing will treat the body not as individual parts, but as a whole, so the whole organism realigns.

Dr. Ida Rolf, a pioneer in bodywork, perfected the technique structural integration called Rolfing. According to Dr. Rolf, the traditional idea of standing up straight, shoulders back, stomach in and head high, actually misaligns the spine and deforms the skeleton.

Rolfing operates through a sequence of hands-on manipulation, the Rolfers move the tissue of the back and lower back toward symmetry and balance that the body demands by stretching and moving the tissue. Rolfing is designed to loosen the fascia, resulting in a freedom of muscle movement and the unlearning of bad patterns of muscle strain and misuse, resolving the source of the back pain. This release should then enable the back to properly align itself. When the back is properly aligned, back pain should recede.

For low back pain as well as disk herniation, Rolfing would focus on softening, releasing, and lengthening the muscle tissue and creating space between the intervertebral disks (most easily seen when Rolfing creates space between the pelvis and the ribs).

Some of the key muscles involved in Rolfing for back pain will possibly be the muscles involved in hip flexion and the connective tissue which surrounds them as well as the various lower back muscles and the strong ligaments that hold the sacrum in place (the sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of your spine which you might know as the tailbone)

Rolfing’s great strength is that it is non-invasive, and hence while undergoing Rolfing you will be able to continue with daily life and even sports, while simultaneously treating and relaxing your back muscles, which will eventually allow you a greater range of movement and increase your flexibility.

Dr Ronald Tarrel. D.O., a neurologist at the Noran Neurological Clinic in Minneapolis, says, “I refer my patients who may be surgical candidates, or others that have had surgery for neck and back injuries, to Rolfing Universally, I have had an 80-85% success rate with these referrals One key reason I refer is that Rolfing offers relief to patients who think their left-over pain is due to failed surgery. They may be so tightly bound after the surgery from the scarred tissue that their soft tissue needs to be released. Rolfing can help greatly with this.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception

http://altmd.com/Articles/Rolfing-Structural-Integration-for-Back-Pain

http://www.rolfing.com.sg/Back-Pain.html

http://www.rolfing-london.co.uk/backpain.htm